A man aged in his 70s has been arrested today as part of the ongoing investigation into the shooting death of road worker George Taiaroa.

The man was arrested after a search of a property today north of Rotorua in the Mamaku Ranges.

It was one of a number of warrants that have been carried out since the March 19 shooting

The man has been charged with a firearms offence, but that particular arrest was unrelated to the homicide investigation.

Detective Inspector Tim Anderson said: "It is important that we continue to protect the integrity of this investigation and not be drawn by speculation into making premature comments. We will not therefore be making any specific comments in relation to today's search or any of the previous search warrants."